Marketing at its finest, the last time we saw the Xinkhova Female with her cub, she walked right past camp and decided this was the perfect spot to stop and pick up her cub.

For the short time we had the Xinkhova Female with her cubs, we were well and truly spoilt with the most sensational sightings. Seeing a mother leopard carry her cubs is the pinnacle of sightings out here.

Though her carry technique was still rather questionable, these sightings will stay with me forever.

Some times everyone needs a little love, no matter how big or small you are, a little snuggle goes a long way.
On a more serious note, this was the first time I have ever seen a Yellow-billed Oxpecker on a rhino.

I don’t think I will ever get tired of taking photos of the setting or rising sun. Here the Drakensberg mountains resemble a bit of Table Mountain in Cape Town.

Two Southern Ground Hornbills hopped up onto a branch of a dead tree and began cleaning their bills. The chick, with the grey-brown face, still learning and following the lead of the adult on the left with the red face.

This was a lovely chance to compare a fully mature male Southern Ground Hornbill with a juvenile who will take up to nine years to transition into the full adult colouration.

The one semi-decent shot of the wild dogs on the airstrip recently.

Catching a free ride. As this rhino was moving along feeding, this Red-billed Oxpecker, just sat on top not doing anything for a while.

After waiting for nearly 2 hours for the Nkoveni Female where she had a steenbok carcass, hoping she would turn up and come and feed, eventually I spotted her resting in this marula tree about 200m away.

Climbing up this fallen tree to retrieve her steenbok carcass, the Nkoveni Female was lucky no vultures had spotted it yet and she could bring it down and feed in the shade in peace.

A stunning wide-angle view of the Sand River at Finfoot, flowing in the late afternoon golden light.

Most of the mornings recently have had a stunning layer of mist in the low lying areas, particularly along the riverbeds, I noticed this elephant bull ambling along feeding and snapped a couple of backlit shots of him. The elephant not really being the focus here, but rather the stunning background of misty and layers in the rolling hills.

Same sighting as the elephant bull in the mist, this time, this large marula tree is the subject.

Nothing dramatic about this image, just a close up of the most colourful bird we see out here, the Lilac-breasted Roller.

Golden light makes everything look good. Glancing back over his shoulder, this impala ram was keeping an eye on me.

After finding the Maxim’s Male with a hoisted impala carcass, we sat with him resting in the shade for the afternoon. I was very hopeful that after several yawns, that he might get up and climb the tree to feed, however, I was let down as he flopped back over and continued to sleep.

Same leopard, another yawn, more hope for me for some action.

After a spectacularly good rainy season, all the larger waterholes are still full to the brim, Shingi dam especially, which is now home to three hippos that kept me entertained for a while, snorting, blowing sprays of water out their nostrils and yawning like this.

The youngest of the three hippos was the most vocal and kept a very close eye on us.

The hippo bull’s beady eye was seldom gazing anywhere else while I was there with them.

With temperature levels dropping over night, and the water of the Sand River still holding a warmer temperature it was stunning watching these plumes of mist/steam rise as the sun was rising over the horizon.

Since losing her cub, the Xinkhova Female was briefly seen mating with what we presume to be the male that killed her cub, then she vanished, until a few mornings ago, so this is the first time I have seen her since that horrific morning. But she keeps moving and grooving and here she was feeding on a young duck.

This was a rather entertaining sequence, while driving through the southwestern grasslands I noticed this Hammerkop at a small mud wallow. I thought that it was a strange place to see one, but then I realised that this opportunistic bird had struck a gold mine of food. Numerous tadpoles trapped in the shrinking water body.

This was a rather entertaining sequence, while driving through the southwestern grasslands I noticed this Hammerkop at a small mud wallow. I thought that it was a strange place to see one, but then I realised that this opportunistic bird had struck a gold mine of food. Numerous tadpoles trapped in the shrinking water body.

This was a rather entertaining sequence, while driving through the southwestern grasslands, I noticed this Hammerkop at a small mud wallow. I thought that it was a strange place to see one, but then I realised that this opportunistic bird had struck a gold mine of food. Numerous tadpoles trapped in the shrinking water body.

A rather ordinary bird for many that live out here and see them often, but this was just a stunning scene with numerous Guinea Fowls moving around, feeding on the dew-covered grass seeds, backlit by the early morning golden light. And it is only when you stop and take a closer look that you realise just how unusual but really pretty-looking birds they are.

Trotting along to catch up to the rest of the group, also known as a confusion of Guinea Fowls, due to their erratic and chaotic behaviours.

Just another shot of the moon, but this one had a bit more detail and context rising over some trees and through the clouds.

Although appearing as full moon, this is rather a 98% moon, seen the day following the full moon. You can notice the top left corner os starting to be shaded in and you are able to notice more detail and texture of the craters there.

When taking a moment to look closer, you notice the small details, striations and micro-cracks in an elephant’s tusks.

Some of you might recognise this image from a sighting I shared a few weekends ago in the Virtual Safari, a large elephant bull in musth, working out what his next move was. This trunk-over-tusk posture is known as a displacement behaviour, which in elephants is a normal, everyday action performed out of context in moments of stress, anxiety, or internal conflict. They serve as coping mechanisms, helping elephants calm themselves, maintain focus, or defuse tension when facing two conflicting impulses.

So here, he was assessing his options and dealing with the internal conflict of being in musth and raging with testosterone, so he wants to show us that he is dominant but in the same moment also he realises that it is not worth it.

Following along beside a few of the larger animals we see out here are a number of birds hopeful of catching a number of insects flushed by the large feet moving through the grass. My first impression was that this was a Cape Glossy Starling, but upon closer inspection I think it might actually be a Greater Blue-eared Starling, What do you think?

This buffalo bull fascinates me, I know Bryce has spoken about it in the past, but to see it up close and have a look at the thousands of white spots, was incredible.

With the long golden hours of winter fully underway, spending any decent amount of time with any animal out here opens up a shot, doesn’t matter how simple, but using lighting can transform everything. A kudu bull simply walking to another bush to feed, can start to look amazing.